The present invention relates to directional data stabilization for gimbal mounted instrumentalities and more particularly to azimuth data stabilization for a shipborne mechanically scanned search-track system mounted on a roll/pitch stabilized platform and coupled to a remotely located azimuth reference, such as the ship's gyro compass.
Search-track systems of the character described above stabilized only in roll and pitch have the virtue of relative simplicity but do not compensate for azimuth data errors resulting from misalignment of the platform pedestals with respect to the azimuth reference nor do they compensate for errors resulting from azimuth coupled roll and pitch motions or for errors occasioned by flexure of the portion of the ship's structure upon which the search-track system is mounted. Shipborne search-track systems are typically mounted high on the ship's superstructure where structural flexure occurs when the ship works in a seaway and are thus subject to small, but significant, azimuth errors occasioned by the structural flexure.